Christmas Miracles
by ScruffyLovin
Summary: Jack and Sam are stuck together, stranded in the middle of nowhere just before the holidays. SamJack.


**Disclaimer: **I make no money from this story, and claim no ownership of any of the Stargate characters or anything related.

**Summary: **Jack and Sam are stuck together, stranded in the middle of nowhere just before the holidays.

**Timeframe: **Takes place somewhere between seasons three and four.

**Note: **This fic was written as a Secret Santa gift for _**surreallis**_ at the Sam and Jack everyday community on LiveJournal.

**Christmas Miracles**

"All packed up and ready to go, T?" Jack asked the Jaffa as he watched his friend heft three full bags on his shoulders.

"I am indeed, O'Neill, as is Daniel Jackson," Teal'c nodded with a barely-perceptible grin.

The boys were all ready to head out and get back to Colorado. It was December twenty-second, and the entire team had spent the past four days at Jack's cabin in Northern Minnesota, getting in one last team get-together before the holiday. As soon as they returned to the mountain, Teal'c was heading off-world to visit with his family in the Land of Light, and Daniel would be on his way to Abydos to see Kasuf and Skaara. Sam was meeting her father at the SGC before the two of them were to take a flight to San Diego to be with her brother Mark. The only one fated to be alone on Christmas was Jack, and knowing this, Daniel had been the one to suggest they all go up to his cabin for a few days before everyone was to leave. Jack had been appreciative of the idea, never letting on that he knew precisely why Daniel had thought of it.

Jack reached for Sam's bags while Teal'c brought his and Daniel's things out to the government SUV they'd borrowed for the trip. He looked up when she came out of the spare room, running a hand through her recently blow-dried hair. He grinned at her somewhat awkwardly. "So Carter, you ready to head out with the guys?"

Sam walked across the sitting room, tugging a fleece pull-over on over her thermal shirt and smiling almost shyly. She then looked at him quizzically and gently took her bags from him, setting them down on the floor for a moment. "Actually, sir, I thought I'd hang back and help you finish packing up the cabin before you leave. It's going to take a few hours, and it'll go by much quicker if you've got some help. That is, if you don't mind sir," she smiled shyly and not without some hesitation. She still was feeling really bad that they were all leaving him for Christmas, and she wanted to spend as much time as she could trying to keep his spirits up before she left as well. Besides that, there was a little matter from the other night that she needed to talk to him about without the guys around.

He looked at her, surprised. "I don't mind at all, but don't you have to be back at the SGC by tomorrow afternoon to catch your flight to California?"

She just shrugged. "We'll only be an hour or so behind Daniel and Teal'c; it's no big deal sir," Sam smiled convincingly at him, feeling a little more confidence now.

Jack nodded back at her with a somewhat sheepish grin. "Thanks Carter, I appreciate the help,"

Daniel bustled in the door, brushing the light snow off his jacket. "Hey Sam, you ready to go?"

"You and Teal'c go on ahead Daniel, I'm gonna stay and help the Colonel pack up the cabin and ride back with him," she assured him, sending the archaeologist a wave.

"Alright," Daniel nodded and waved to his friends, her turned back to the door at the sound of a car horn. "Well, Teal'c's got the SUV warmed up and he's ready to get going. I'll see you guys in about a week," he smiled at them, happy to be going to visit with his Abydonian family.

"Bye Daniel," Sam waved at him.

Jack nodded as the archaeologist opened up the door. "See ya Danny, have a good time. And say hello to Skaara for me, will ya?"

"Sure thing Jack. Bye, and Merry Christmas!"

With their friends gone, Jack and Sam each packed their things into the backseat of his truck and then headed inside the cabin to clean up. They had to pack up all the perishable foods, turn off the generator and the water, secure all the windows, and lock up the basement. It took a little over an hour, but then they were completely packed up and ready to get on the road.

-

It was dark and getting late as they began making their way through Nebraska now, and Jack had just pulled over at the last gas station for at least a hundred miles to fill up the truck. He leaned against the Ford while it gassed up, stretching and wincing slightly at the protesting from his knees and back. It had been a long drive, and soon they'd be looking for a place to stop for the night. He couldn't have been more relieved, or nervous. He was exhausted and about ready to crash, but the thought of spending the night in a hotel room with just him and Carter made Jack a little on the edgy side. It wasn't that he minded her company at all, but possibly because he'd enjoyed her company a little too much. An inebriated kiss shared between them the other night was testament to that.

"Hey Colonel, I grabbed us both some coffee and got you some peanuts to snack on," Sam trotted up to him as she exited the gas station with a smile.

Shaking himself from his thoughts, Jack looked up and snatched the peanuts out of the air as she tossed them to him. "Thanks Carter," he grinned crookedly when she nodded with a brilliant smile and got back in the truck with their caffeine fixes for the night.

Sam held her Styrofoam coffee cup in both hands to keep the chill out, looking out the passenger window as she waited for Jack to finish paying for gas. The snow was starting to fall more heavily now, in a storm that seemed to have been following them from Minnesota. She was a little worried about getting caught up in it, and hoped that the nearest hotel wasn't too far off on their journey.

-

The storm got bad fast. Snow drifts piled high along the sides of barely-paved roads in the middle of nowhere, and Jack could barely see where he was going. He made use of the Ford's four-wheel-drive, but the packed snow gathering on the narrow strip of road ahead of them was making things difficult and slippery. The truck was heading down a slight hill, gaining speed even as Jack tapped on the brakes and applied no gas during their descent. Sam had drifted off some time ago, completely unaware of the danger they were in. Out of the corner of his eye, Jack could tell she was still deeply asleep.

Barely able to see the road ahead of him, Jack noticed the sharp turn at the bottom of the hill too late. He attempted a slow turn of the wheel, tapping at the brakes, but the protesting wheels locked up on him, sliding on the icy surface.

The next thing Jack knew, the world was spinning and he was tumbling, banging around the cab of the truck and probably knocking into Sam. Damn he wished he'd put his seatbelt back on when they left the gas station. There was a sudden scream, and his thoughts turned to Sam just before everything went black.

-

Sam came to with a strange, disoriented feeling, and a headache, like all the blood was rushing to her head. Because it was. Her eyelids fluttered open, and she managed to focus enough to realize that she was upside down. She vaguely recalled opening her eyes earlier to see that everything was sort of tumbling, like she was stuck in a twister or something. The smell of spilled coffee assaulted her nostrils.

_Oh God. _

There was something tight at her hip, and she belatedly realized that it was the seatbelt, keeping her from falling to the roof of the truck. Tentatively wiggling her fingers, arms, toes, and legs, Sam decided that nothing seemed overly painful like it was broken, and heaved a silent sigh of relief. But she knew she was sure to be bruised, and something wet was trickling down her forehead, probably blood.

Before attempting to get herself right-side-up again, Sam grew frightened as she craned her neck to find out what had happened to her traveling companion. It was dark inside the truck, and it was hard to see too clearly, but the lights on the dashboard were enough to somewhat illuminate the cab.

Jack was crumpled in a tangled heap on the roof on the truck, his right arm positioned awkwardly where the shoulder was supposed to connect with the socket, and a nasty, bleeding gash on the left side of his forehead, close to his hairline. He was unconscious and not moving.

_"Colonel," _she choked out, her breath coming in icy clouds of condensation that hung in the air. When she realized he wouldn't be waking anytime soon, Sam stretched one arm out to brace herself against the roof of the truck, fumbling around with her free hand to grasp the buckle of her seatbelt. She managed to unlock it, then gingerly lowered herself down in the small space and turned so she was crouching on her knees. She cleared her throat, heart hammering away in her chest as she checked his pulse, both hands then resting on either side of his face. "Colonel, can you hear me?"

When he didn't respond, Sam's mind went to their next concern. Was there gas leaking from the tank? Would it explode? She had no way of knowing. Sam just knew that she had to get the both of them out of there to be safe, and soon. Turning slightly, Sam grasped the door handle and managed to get it open without too much effort, then she reached up toward the steering wheel and turned off the engine, killing the lights in the cab as well. Not happy with the loss of light, but realizing she'd have to deal with it, Sam quickly felt around for any obvious injuries, praying to whatever higher powers were up there that Jack had no spinal or neck damage. She didn't have the time to be incredibly gentle.

Carefully getting a hold of Jack beneath his shoulders, Sam grimaced at the odd, detached feeling she got when she grasped his right shoulder. The movement elicited a pained groan from Jack, but he didn't rouse any further. Sam grabbed at his jacket instead, hoping he wouldn't wake as she wiggled backwards to get out the open door, knowing it would most likely cause him more pain. She wouldn't know how badly he was injured until he was conscious and lucid enough to speak to her.

Dragging him away from the truck and into the snow, Sam sunk to her knees into the heavy white powder to catch her breath, Jack's head and shoulders leaning against her thighs. She took slow, deep breaths, fighting the exhaustion she felt with every intake of air. Looking around herself, all Sam could see was white. She peered around, seeing only more white and darkness until...

Wait, was she hallucinating?

Sam peered harder through the sheets of white, squinting and raising a hand to shield her eyes from the snow. There, in the distance was a faint golden light of some sort. It had to have been a house or something. Now all she had to do was get herself and Jack there. That task wasn't going to be easy. Jack was still unconscious and her head hurt; she was starting to feel a little faint. Remembering the cell phone in her jacket pocket, she quickly pulled it out, but predictably, there was no signal. Sighing with frustration, she slipped the phone back into her pocket and focused on what lay ahead of her.

With several steadying breaths and using every ounce of strength she had left, Sam got to her feet, hanging onto fistfuls of Jack's coat and dragging him through the deep snow drifts. Keeping that distant light in view as her goal, Sam trudged on, determined to make it.

When she'd gotten within about ten feet of the light, the wind shifted, blowing the heavy snow in a different direction, and she was finally able to see where the light had been coming from. It seemed to be emanating from a lantern of some sort, hanging from a beam at the top of a barn, just above a closed loft window. It was a run down, abandoned barn, but a barn nonetheless. And it wasn't too run down to provide decent shelter either, but in the state Sam was in, the place was looking like a luxury hotel.

Laying Jack on the snow for a moment to force open a busted-up wooden door, Sam peered inside the dark space briefly before returning to the Colonel and dragging him in. Getting the door closed again and pulling Jack toward a corner where she found an inviting pile of hay, Sam collapsed beside him, losing her battle against exhaustion and quickly falling asleep.

-

Sam was awake again by the time she realized she probably shouldn't have allowed herself to sleep with a head injury and possible concussion, but she just thanked her lucky stars that she'd woken at all. She was a little cold, but mostly glad that she'd put on a thermal shirt and fleece pull-over that morning. Still blinking away a hazy sleep, Sam heard a groan at her side and realized what had woken her.

"Colonel?" she blinked, noticing that there was a dim light inside the barn that made her wonder if it was morning. Sam made a face, wrinkling her forehead as she felt the dried blood on her head. More concerned about Jack, she glanced over him briefly, glad that she'd left him lying on his back when she'd set him down and passed out beside him. His right shoulder still looked to be set a little lower than it should be, and Sam figured it had to be dislocated. She grimaced, realizing she would need to be the one to pop it back in place.

Jack made another groan and she knelt at his side, placing both hands on either side of his face. Sam frowned worriedly. He was cold. "Colonel," she tried again, lightly patting his cheek, then moving a hand to his chest, gently rubbing against it to try and rouse him. "Sir, can you hear me?"

He moaned, and his eyes opened slowly, brown orbs staring at her hazily. Jack blinked slowly, Sam's crystal-blue eyes gazing at him, glossy with concern, a relieved smile on her face. _"Carter," _he whispered, eerily getting the sensation of déjà vu. He was cold, and he hurt.

"There was some sort of accident, sir. Your truck flipped over in the storm. I managed to get you out and find this barn to shelter us from the weather. It's bad out there Colonel," she told him, using her best 'in-control-Major-Carter' voice.

Jack blinked slowly, his eyes shifting around jerkily and unfocused. _"Carter," _he winced, trying to move his right arm in an attempt to sit himself up, then gasping in pain as white-hot agony shot through his shoulder. _"Agh,"_

Sam grimaced in sympathy, lightly pressing her hand against his chest to still him. "Take it easy, sir. Your shoulder's dislocated,"

_"Agh. God," _Jack muttered with a groan, his head lolling back against the hay they were lying on.

"I'll need to put that back in place sir," she warned, grimacing. This was getting to be a déjà vu moment for her as well. Sam barely saw the humor reflecting in his eyes.

_"Well, at least it's not my leg...this time," _Jack joked softly in an attempt to lighten things up and get his mind off the pain. He nodded silently, giving her permission to do what she needed to do.

Standing at his side, Sam bent to firmly grasp the wrist of his injured arm. Moving as carefully as she could, and knowing that it was causing him a lot of pain, Sam had to position his injured arm perpendicular to his body. He was grinding his teeth and trying not to cry out in pain, but she couldn't stop now, she had to finish this and he would feel better for it afterwards. But Sam was no medic, and the only reason she sort-of knew what she was doing was because she'd watched Janet do this at least twice, and had had to do this in the field once before without any help.

She didn't bother telling him that this would hurt, because she had an idea that he already knew it would. She got the impression he'd had a dislocated shoulder before, especially considering his time spent in an Iraqi prison. Shaking those horrid thoughts from her head and focusing on the task at hand, Sam held tightly to his wrist with both hands, her left foot firmly planted against the Colonel's armpit to brace his body, her right foot behind her to keep her balanced. Closing her eyes, and with one sharp, forceful upright tug, Sam had yanked on his arm and felt the shoulder slip back into the socket before she gently let his arm rest limply at his side.

Sam felt tears slipping past clenched eyelids at the sound of the agonized yelp wrenched from his lips, and dropped to her knees beside him, opening her eyes once more. She could clearly see that he was trying desperately not to pass out. Her cold hand shakily pressed against his forehead, then rested over his chest. He was hot and sweaty from exertion, and his heart was hammering rapidly against his ribcage as he breathed heavily.

Getting back up and taking a step away from him, Sam's attention shifted to their surroundings as she tried to focus with the dim lighting. She wasn't entirely sure if it was morning yet, or if she'd only been asleep for ten minutes. "I need to see if there's anything I can use to strap your arm," she told him softly, reluctantly leaving him to search the barn.

The barn was pretty large, with old wooden planks lining a dusty floor, and random piles of hay scattered mostly in the corners. She found a pile of four-by-fours stacked against one of the walls, and there was a slanted wooden ladder that led up to a hay loft. With one last glance toward the Colonel, Sam tentatively climbed up to the loft where she discovered an entire floor covered with hay, some raggedy wool blankets and rags. The closed wooden shutters to the window were rattling from the force of the wind outside, and Sam carefully made her way toward it, flipping up the latch and peering out into a white landscape. The lantern she'd spied before was hanging off a beam and swinging precariously, still glowing with a bright orange fire inside the dusty glass. Sam took a moment to wonder why and how it was still lit, but then her attention went out to the heavily falling snow.

Quickly closing the shutters and latching the window, she turned away and momentarily sunk down into the hay, shivering. They were stranded in the-middle-of-nowheres-ville Nebraska in a blizzard, injured, and no one even knew they were there. Jack's truck had landed at the bottom of a steep ditch, and Sam feared that the tracks would be covered in snow by now and no one would see it. Besides, what were the chances of anyone being out on the roads in this weather anyway?

_"Sam," _

The weak, raspy voice had Sam snapping herself from her morbid thoughts and quickly climbing down the ladder with the blankets she'd found. "Colonel?" she knelt by him, setting the blankets aside.

"Are you...hurt?" he asked with concern, seeing the dried blood and the cut on her head for the first time. His voice was sounding a little stronger now, dark eyes slightly more focused.

Her brows furrowed for a moment. She could see that his gaze was fixed on a spot above her right eyebrow, and she knew there must have been a decent gash there. Sam was pretty sure she'd hit her head on the window, and probably had a slight concussion, but guessed that her injuries hadn't been as bad as the Colonel's because she'd been asleep and limp when the accident happened, and she'd had her seatbelt on, unlike Jack. "I'll be fine sir, just a little concussion," she assured him with a gentle smile.

"Good," he whispered with a relieved sigh. Then, realizing what he'd said, Jack's brows furrowed suddenly and he frowned. "No...not good...that you're hurt... That's..bad... But, I mean.."

"Shh," she soothed. "It's okay sir, I know what you mean," Sam gently reached out her hand to brush at the hair along his forehead, avoiding the gash there. "Other than the dislocated shoulder, I'm pretty sure you've got a concussion as well, and a good one at that. I want to look you over for any other injuries though,"

"I'm fine," he grunted unconvincingly.

Shooting him a skeptical look, Sam began to gently unbutton his jacket. "I found some old rags and blankets, but I'll need to get your coat off so I can look you over and strap your shoulder to your chest," she explained quietly while going to work. With his jacket open, she saw that he only had a flannel and t-shirt on beneath it, and had begun to shiver slightly as she went through his layers of clothing.

"Damn, it's cold," Jack's teeth began to chatter a little.

Sam frowned worriedly. She knew the barn was a bit drafty, but it was much warmer than outside and he shouldn't have been that cold. "You might be suffering from shock, sir," When he said nothing, she started at the buttons on his flannel and then lifted his t-shirt to expose his abdomen and chest. There was some bruising on his chest, but nothing that appeared too painful when she put some pressure there. Sam was thankful that he didn't appear to have any broken ribs this time. "Besides your head and shoulder, does anything hurt particularly sir?" she asked, gently tugging his shirt back down and re-buttoning the flannel.

"No," he grunted, shaking his head and wincing. When she shot him a look he said, "Neck's a little sore,"

Gently feeling around his neck with both hands, Sam seemed satisfied that he didn't appear to be in too much pain, and decided Jack seemed to have gotten lucky with a strained muscle or something equally non-critical. When she'd woken to see him lying there awkwardly on the roof of the upturned truck, she'd been so scared he'd had some sort of neck or back injury, and she'd made it worse by dragging him across the snow.

"Okay sir, I'm going to wrap your shoulder up now," she told him, gingerly positioning his right arm against his chest as carefully as she could. Sam chewed her bottom lip as he clenched his eyes shut in mute pain. As gentle as she possibly could, Sam strapped Jack's arm to his chest, tearing strips from one of the rags she'd found to make it longer. Once she was finished, she secured his jacket around him once more and buttoned it up so he would stay warm.

"I'm..good Carter," Jack murmured, raising his left arm to get her to stop fussing with his jacket.

"Sorry sir," she smiled sheepishly at him and snatched her hands away from his coat. "Want to try and sit up?"

"Yeah," he nodded carefully, mindful of his neck, and his throbbing head. Pushing himself up with his left arm, he felt an odd pain in his lower back and legs as Sam helped him to lean against the wall. He grimaced, but turned his head away so Sam wouldn't see. There was something wrong, he knew it, but he didn't want to worry Sam. He could feel a strange numbness in his legs, and he couldn't move them very well.

Thinking a moment, Sam sat back on her heels and drew her lower lip between her teeth. "Sir, I think I should go back to your truck; see if I can salvage anything we had packed in the back. I know we could use the water that was in the cooler, and maybe some of the food,"

Jack was quiet for a little while, eyes glazed in thought. "How..bad is it out there?"

"Pretty bad. Visibility's no good," she grimaced, then added, "But the truck isn't too far away and I think I could make it there and back okay."

"I'll go with you," Jack told her, silently hoping she'd refuse his help, but worried about her going out there into the storm. He was fairly certain he wouldn't be able to get up, but he'd sure as hell drag his sorry ass out there with her if she needed him to.

Sam shook her head and put her hand out, halting any movement. "No sir, you need to rest. You just stay here and I'll be back before you know it," she smiled confidently at him.

"Sam," Jack called out to her when she got up and began moving towards the door. "There's a flashlight...somewhere in the backseat if you can get to it. You might need it,"

She nodded at him and turned away as she started to drag the door open. It was harder to pull it open this time, and Sam was surprised at the amount of snow on the ground on the other side. It was up to her knees by now. Suddenly it hit her how tiring this journey was going to be, and she tried hard to recall exactly what direction the truck had been in. It certainly wouldn't due to get lost in the white out.

Almost half an hour later, after Sam realized she'd probably passed the upturned truck twice, she found it, nearly encompassed in a heavy blanket of still-falling snow. If there had been any leaking gas from the truck, it hadn't ignited and blown up like on tv. For that she was grateful. Crawling toward the open passenger door where they'd escaped from the cab, Sam shoved armfuls of snow out of the way to get inside. Her face and hands were cold from the trek through the blizzard, and she took a moment to enjoy the little bit of warmth and shelter the truck provided.

She managed to find the flashlight surprisingly quickly when she accidently kneeled on it, then flicked it on to search the rest of the darkened cab. Snatching at one of her bags of clothes that was upside-down and wedged behind the driver's seat, Sam pulled some items out, then managed to grab Jack's bag and shoved her own things in with his. Shouldering the duffle bag, she crawled out from the upturned cab and headed out once more into the storm.

Trudging through the high snow with barely any visibility, Sam noticed that the light she'd first spied on the barn was still glowing despite the weather. It was a beacon, guiding her back to her Colonel, and she did her best to return to him.

On her way back, Sam nearly collided with a sizeable lump in the snow, and was delighted to discover that it was the cooler that had been in the bed of Jack's pick-up. She quickly brushed off the snow and turned it over to find that the lid was still latched and nothing had fallen out. Grasping the cooler by one of the handles and adjusting the duffle strap on her shoulder, Sam dragged it along behind her, focusing determinedly on the lantern light's glow ahead.

-

Jack was worried for Sam. By his count she'd been gone a long time, but he couldn't trust himself on that. He'd been feeling more sluggish and out of it since she'd left, and his head was really pounding. He just wanted Sam to be back so he could be certain she was safe, then he could pass out. Struggling to sit up against the wall where Sam had left him lying in the hay and covered in one of the musty old blankets she'd found, Jack winced at the pain that shot up from his lower back, going straight to his head and injured shoulder. A powerful wave of nausea swept him along with the pain, and he managed to roll sideways to avoid throwing up on himself.

The sound of the heavy, broken door being shoved open, followed by a cold draft sweeping into the old barn instantly told Jack that Sam had returned. With his head, shoulder, and lower back now throbbing in tune with his heartbeat, Jack forced himself onto his back once more and struggled to sit up again. He watched Sam bustle inside, his duffle bag strapped across her shoulders as she dragged in something behind her and then hastily went to close the door.

Sam shivered, brushing cold white powder off herself and pulling the snow-covered cooler further inside. Her jacket was cold and still snowy, so she pulled it off and shook it before leaving it on the floor. Her whole body felt numbed by the cold, and she just wanted to curl up someplace warm. _Like next to Jack_, she thought suddenly and without restraint. Thinking about Jack, she suddenly realized that she couldn't see him inside the barn. Her eyes had gotten adjusted to the bright white outside, and now she could barely see within the dim barn. Flicking on the flashlight she carried, Sam squinted and moved toward the corner hay pile where she'd left Jack.

"Colonel?" the flashlight moved back and forth along the floor until she spotted him. He was lying half-slumped against the wall, looking pale and about to pass out. Judging by the unpleasant smell as she approached, and the mess on the hay beside him, O'Neill had been sick. "Are you alright, sir?" Sam's blue eyes flashed with concern as she knelt on the hay beside him, clicking off the flashlight and setting it down.

He grunted and sighed softly, blinking sluggishly as if it were an extreme effort. "I threw up."

She smiled sympathetically and laid a hand gently on his thigh. "It's okay Colonel," Quickly covering up the mess with more hay, Sam got up and turned, glancing toward a pile of hay in the opposite corner of the barn. "Let's get you moved over there, sir. Do you think you could stand?" When he didn't respond right away, but gave her a worrying look, Sam felt her heart jump into her throat. "Colonel? What's wrong?"

Jack blinked sluggishly again, his brows furrowing in pain. "I... I can't really move..my legs...Carter,"

Sam nearly choked on her own saliva, her heart skipping a beat in panic. Taking a deep, decidedly shaky breath, she fought to remain calm, pushing down the anger she was feeling because he hadn't said anything until now. Her hand was still on his thigh, and she gave it a firm squeeze. "Did you feel that sir?"

He frowned and tried to focus, pushing the pain to the back of his mind. Jack could feel the pressure of her hand on his thigh, but it was an odd, tingly sensation. "Yeah. A little,"

She nodded, but found herself shaking, tears beginning to sting her eyes. He could at least feel _something_, and that had to be a good sign. Momentarily clenching her eyes shut to hold back the tears, Sam chewed her bottom lip. She was worried about trying to move him, afraid of possibly causing further injury. But the truth was that the damage was probably already done. So much for thinking that she hadn't hurt anything by dragging him from the truck.

Sensing her concerns and seeing the guilt clearly flashing across Sam's face, Jack was quick to reassure her. In a gentle voice he said, "It's not...your fault Sam,"

Furiously wiping the falling tears from her eyes, she forced herself to nod. She just couldn't manage speaking at the moment.

Jack was still struggling to stay awake, but he needed to talk to her. "If you hadn't done...what you did...we both woulda froze..to death," he sent her a weak, wry smile. "Somethin' I doubt...either of us wants..to go through...again,"

Despite the guilt and worry she was feeling, he'd managed to make her smile. She sniffed, blinking back more tears and reaching her hand out to gently cup the side of his face. "I dunno," she murmured wistfully, "There were _some _benefits to that experience," Suddenly a sly grin spread across Sam's face. "Feel the need to share some body heat yet?"

He chuckled, grimacing when that caused his head to pound further. Knowing he was about to pass out any second, he lightly grasped the hand she held against his cheek and smiled gently. _"Sorry Carter,"_ he whispered, promptly losing consciousness.

Eyes widening in alarm, Sam quickly checked his pulse before heaving a sigh of relief. She wasn't so sure that moving him was such a good idea now, but the hay on the other side of the barn didn't stink of vomit, and was further away from the drafty old door. Pressing her hand once more to Jack's face, Sam found that he was beginning to feel cool again. Decision made, she tucked the blankets further around him and gingerly dragged him toward the opposite corner of the barn. When she'd gotten him settled, Sam suddenly realized how cold she was, and remembered that her jeans were soaked from the snow. Pulling over the duffel she'd brought back from the truck, Sam took out a pair of her pants she'd stuffed in there and changed quickly into the dry clothes.

Realizing that Jack's own pants must have gotten wet from her dragging him through the snow, Sam quickly knelt at his side and lifted the blanket off his legs. She put her hand on his knee and could feel that his jeans were damp and cold. Cursing herself for not noticing before, she dug a pair of his pants from the duffel bag and gently placed a hand on the side of Jack's face, trying to wake him. "Sir?"

Sighing when he didn't respond, Sam took a moment to chew her bottom lip, then squeezed his shoulder and tried changing tactics a little. "Jack, please wake up. I need your help here," she pleaded with him. "Jack, help me,"

"Hrm?" he started to come around, opening his eyes and peering groggily at her with sudden concern. "Carter? ..._Wha'swrong? Y'okay?_"

His words were a little slurred, and it concerned her. Sam smiled tightly. "I'm fine, Colonel. Your pants are a little damp, sir. I managed to get some of our clothes together from your truck, and I think you should change so you don't get too cold,"

"Don'matter," he murmured, barely keeping his eyes open. "My legs're already numb... Little cold...won't hurt,"

Sam frowned sadly and helped him to sit up. She wished she had something to give him for the pain, but found nothing of use in that respect in the truck. Ignoring the Colonel's initial, slurred, protests, she helped him remove the damp jeans and put on the pair of dry ones. He hissed in pain when she'd moved his legs to get the pants on, and she supposed that may actually be a good thing. "I'm sorry sir,"

"S'okay," he told her, eyes clenched shut. A wry smile flashed briefly over his face. "'Least I can feel that... Right?"

She nodded, sniffling and gently squeezing his arm. Covering him with the blankets again, Sam laid down in the hay at his side. When she'd gone out into the storm, she had checked her watch to see the time read 5:12, and decided that by the faint light in the sky amongst all the stormy snow and clouds, it was morning instead of afternoon, albeit very, very early. She was tired, and her head had started hurting again. Curling in close to Jack's left, she pulled another musty blanket over the both of them and drifted off to sleep.

-

She woke up cold, and to the sound of Jack's voice calling her name; her first name. Not Carter, not Major, but Sam. Her fuzzy brain forced her eyelids to flutter open, and she found that she'd rolled away from Jack in her sleep. She was shivering, and noticed that she'd pulled herself away from the relative warmth of the blankets as well.

_"Sam," _Jack was calling her again. "You're gonna freeze..over there,"

"Jack?" she questioned him, her muzzy mind automatically using his casual name as he had done for her.

"Yeah," he answered after what sounded like a brief hesitation. "C'mere,"

Blinking several times to clear her sleepy vision, Sam groaned at the persistent headache pounding at the front of her skull and gingerly sat up. She was still lying in the hay, but not nearly close enough to Jack's warmth and the blankets. She began to crawl toward him, then stopped and got to her feet a little clumsily, suddenly realizing how absolutely thirsty she was. There was water somewhere, she knew. The cooler! The cooler she'd dragged in from the storm. There was water bottles and some food and other beverages in there.

"Sam?" Jack murmured questioningly when he saw that she was no longer moving toward him. He'd woken, missing her warmth, and found that she'd moved away from him in her sleep. He wanted her beside him again, and it had more to do with warmth than he was willing to admit at the moment, but seeing that she wasn't coming back to his side right away had him confused and a little disheartened.

"There's some water and food in the cooler," she said softly, by way of explanation. Sam knew that keeping hydrated would be beneficial to both of them, and tiredly stumbled over to the cooler before dragging it over to their little hay pile in the corner. Taking out a single bottle of water for them to share, since she knew they should probably ration their supplies, Sam twisted the cap off and drank some slowly before kneeling at Jack's side.

Jack managed to prop himself up on his left elbow, Sam gently holding the back of his head with one hand and the water bottle with the other as she helped him to drink. He was thirsty, but stopped himself from drinking too much, knowing that there was only a limited supply. _"Thanks,"_ he whispered as she pulled the bottle away and returned it to the cooler.

Shivering, Sam remembered her jacket she'd removed earlier and got up, hurrying to retrieve it from the floor close to the door. Pulling it on, she zipped it up all the way and shuffled back over to lay down once more on the hay beside Jack. Lifting the blankets, she gingerly curled in close beside him and pulled the blankets over them both. "Brrr," she murmured, feeling herself tense slightly when she felt Jack's arm wrap around her, pulling her even closer to him.

"Is it...Cuh-Christmas..Eve y-yet?" Jack murmured, his teeth starting to chatter.

It took Sam a moment to remember what time it had been when she'd gone to get their supplies, and checking her watch, realized that it was still the same day. It was around thirteen-hundred, and she was a little frightened to discover that they'd been asleep for nearly eight hours. "No," she answered him softly, her cheek resting against his chest, "We've s-s-still got...eleven hours t-to go," she whispered tiredly. Sam couldn't believe how exhausted she still was.

"Okay," Jack nodded a little dazedly. His eyes were closed now, and he felt himself drifting again. It was just too hard trying to stay awake, although he knew he probably should.

Suddenly worried that they were probably both beginning to suffer the first stages of hypothermia, Sam scared herself into not falling asleep again. They were both shivering a lot now, and with Jack's injuries, she feared that hypothermia would sneak up on him much faster. "J-Jack?" she hedged tentatively. She needed to keep him awake, and if that meant bringing up an awkward conversation, then so be it.

"Yuh-Yeah?" came the rasped response as his entire body seemed to convulse with the shivering that wracked his frame.

"About the other..nuh-night.." Sam began, trying desperately to control her shivering and the chattering of her teeth.

Jack's brows furrowed, but it was hard to concentrate. His brain was still pretty muzzy from the concussion and he frowned as he fought to remember what she was talking about. It hit him a moment later. The kiss. She was probably worried he'd bring it up with Hammond or something ridiculous like that, he thought. But the truth was, he'd been a willing participant as well. "Cuh-Carter.." he paused, feeling her tense, then let out a soft sigh. "Sam-"

"Sir, puh-please... Let me finish," she interrupted, sucking in a breath that would hopefully calm her nerves. "I know we'd both b-been drinking, but I wasn't s-so drunk that I di-didn't realize what I was doing,"

Blinking, Jack slowly rubbed his free hand up and down her arm. "Me neither," he breathed quietly.

"And I'm not sorry," Sam stated determinedly, chewing her bottom lip as she waited for him to say something.

"Me neither," he said again with a slow smile spreading across his face.

Sam didn't know where they were supposed to go from there, but right now she didn't care. Feeling another surge of courage she said quietly, "I don't regret what happened...Jack. In fact, I'm glad it did,"

Jack didn't know what to say to that. He felt a surge of love for the woman in his arms and rubbed his hand along her arm affectionately, craning his neck painfully to kiss the top of her head as a response. Sighing with a sense of peace washing over him, Jack dropped his head back into the hay and closed his eyes, murmuring softly, "I'm tuh-tired Sam,"

"I know," she felt her gut clench in fear. Exhaustion was creeping up on her as well, but it wasn't a good idea for both of them to sleep. "You r-rest. I'll w-wake you in half an hour and we'll s-switch,"

"'Kay," Jack drifted off within seconds, dead to the world and to the cold.

Sam curled into him as close as possible and concentrated on the beating of his heart to keep herself awake.

-

Unbeknownst to the stranded travelers in the barn, the storm had begun to settle and a rescue team had been mounted at the SGC when the two missing members of SG-1 hadn't returned to base after Teal'c and Daniel. Jacob Carter had been waiting for his little girl to arrive so they could fly out to California for the holiday, and convinced General Hammond that something was wrong when several hours passed and she and O'Neill had yet to arrive.

The transmitter in Sam's cell phone had been tracked to Nebraska, where apparently a huge snowstorm had been underway. On General Hammond's order, a helicopter had been sent to find his two missing Air Force officers. Jacob went along for the ride, desperate to find his daughter and bring her back, hopefully safe and sound.

-

Sam managed to fight off sleep for a long while, and though she was certain it had been more than half an hour since Jack dozed off, she hadn't woken him to trade places. When she was just about to rouse him and try to get him to drink a little more and possibly eat something, a sound from above got Sam's attention. There was a loud _whup, whup, whup _noise descending over the barn and getting louder. Her muzzy mind recognized the noise as the sound of a helicopter's rotor, and she carefully disentangled herself from Jack, leaving the blankets over him and stumbling toward the door.

Jerking it open with some effort, Sam was initially surprised to discover the storm had settled. It was getting dark, but she could see enough to tell that it was no longer snowing, although the drifts had continued to rise throughout the day and the snow was at least two and a half feet high. Peering out as the wind whipped and the loud rotor noise continued, Sam nearly screamed in relief when she saw the helicopter land out in the clearing about fifty yards from the shelter of the barn.

Jack's eyes opened slowly as a deep chill assaulted him suddenly, and he slowly realized the cold wind was whipping inside the wide open barn door. Blinking with confusion, his eyes scanned his surroundings and he felt a brief surge of panic when he couldn't find Sam. _"Suh-Sam,"_ he croaked, his head pounding. "Sam!" he managed again in a strong voice, struggling to push himself one-handed into a sitting position and crying out in pain.

"It's okay Colonel, I'm here!"

He heaved a sigh of relief when she came inside the open door and jogged to his side. His brows furrowed in confusion when he took in the elated grin on her face. _"What-?"_

"Our rescue party is here, sir," she had happy tears trailing down her pale, frozen cheeks as she turned slightly and her father came into the barn with a flashlight, followed closely by a two-man medical team in bright orange suits.

"Hey Jack," Jacob greeted him with a smile, slowing down a little as he approached the hay pile where the injured man lay. His expression sobered when he got a good look at his daughter's CO. "You don't look so good."

_"Th-thanks J-Jake. Nice to s-see you t-t-to," _Jack muttered, forcing his heavy-lidded eyes to remain open. A crooked smile appeared briefly on his weary face.

Jacob's concerned gaze swept from Jack to Sam. "What happened to you guys?"

"The storm guh-got bad. The Colonel's t-truck flipped over," Sam frowned worriedly, feeling only slightly comforted as her father hugged her tightly. She gestured toward the prone Colonel. "He's got a d-dislocated shoulder and a puh-possible spinal injury. Probably a concussion t-too,"

One of the medics moving toward Jack turned and waved at the other one. "Get me a back board and two units of warmed saline in here!"

"How 'bout you?" Jacob asked his daughter softly, rubbing her arms to try and generate some warmth.

"I'll be okay Dad," she assured him, shivering in his arms. "Little concussion.." she murmured against him, getting her chattering teeth and shivering under control again.

"It's alright now Sammy, we're going to get you both home now. You're okay," Jacob promised his daughter, guiding her out toward the helicopter as the medics finished getting Jack strapped to the backboard and put him on an IV.

As the chopper rose steadily from the snowy ground, Sam leaned against her father's shoulder, wrapped in a warm blanket with an IV line in her right arm, sending warm fluids into her veins. Her eyes shifted over to Jack, laying flat on the backboard and strapped securely to the floor of the helicopter, a medic on one side of him, the other in the co-pilot's seat. Slowly, she turned her head into her father's chest, brows furrowed in confusion. "How did you know where to find us?" she murmured with genuine curiosity.

Jacob smiled, leaning close to her ear so that she could hear him over the roar of the chopper's rotors. "The transmitter on your cell phone led us here to Nebraska, but we couldn't pinpoint your exact location and had to do a sweep of the area overhead. The pilot spotted that light coming from the barn and we came down to check it out, thinking you might be trying to signal us." He shifted slightly in his seat and affectionately tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear. "Good thinking, by the way. Not that I'd expect any less from you, Sam,"

Blinking, Sam pulled away slightly so she could face her father. "That wasn't me, Dad. I spotted the lantern after we climbed out of Jack's truck and took a chance that there'd be shelter there."

"Really?" Jacob asked quizzically. "Huh."

"Yeah," Sam murmured, heaving a tired sigh. Her head dropped against her father's shoulder again, but her eyes were still on Jack. He'd soon lost consciousness once the medics got him settled in the chopper and injected some morphine into his IV. Sam had been given a smaller dose of the painkiller for her concussion, and it was just now working to put her to sleep. Completely exhausted and feeling at ease enough to rest now, knowing both she and Jack would soon be safely in Janet Fraiser's clutches, Sam welcomed the fading of her consciousness and gradually went to sleep.

-

Feeling warm and comfortable, Sam rolled in her sleep and hugged her pillow closer. The soft material of the pillow molded into her arms and she froze. The pillow she wanted wasn't supposed to be so soft and pliable, it was supposed to be warm, a little hard, but much more comfortable. When she realized she wasn't curled close to Jack, Sam frowned and slowly opened her eyes, now fighting the effects of a dull headache.

"Sammy?"

Her father appeared in her line of vision, a relieved smile on his face. "Dad?" she managed to croak out, surprise at the sound of her own voice showing on her face.

"Hey sweetheart," Jacob lightly stroked a hand through her hair. "You've been out for a couple hours now. Doctor Fraiser says you've got a concussion and some mild hypothermia. How're you feeling?"

"Headache," Sam murmured, blinking several times to focus. Her eyebrows raised, bright blue eyes widening in panic. "Jack!" she rolled onto her back and sat up quickly, holding a hand to her suddenly spinning head. "Is he okay?! Where is he?"

Jacob's own eyes widened in surprise. "Jack?"

"Colonel O'Neill," Sam corrected hurriedly. "His back! Is he-?!" she left the question unanswered, her heart jumping into her throat, but her father seemed to understand.

"He's not paralyzed Sam," Jacob assured her in a low, soothing voice. "Fraiser said there was some swelling in the tissue of his lower back, pressing against his spinal cord. He's gonna have some trouble walking for a little while, but he'll be okay,"

Sam heaved a sigh of relief, her focus suddenly snapping toward Janet as the petite doctor entered the infirmary and swiftly made her way toward her. "Janet! How's...the Colonel?"

"He's resting now, but as your father told you, there was swelling in his back that caused the near-paralysis and numbness of the legs you explained that he'd been experiencing," Janet smiled at her friend gently. "I've got him on some corticosteroids to get the swelling down, and as far as we can tell right now, it seems to be working. Colonel O'Neill was also suffering moderate hypothermia, as well as a concussion and the dislocated shoulder you mentioned,"

Sam nodded, satisfied with the doctor's diagnosis. She was so relieved that his condition wasn't as bad as she'd feared. "His shoulder..." she began in a worried, hesitant tone. "I tried to get it back in place-"

Janet rested a comforting hand on her friend's arm. "You did an excellent job, Sam. The Colonel will be sore for awhile, but the joint suffered no fracture and was placed perfectly back in the socket."

"Good," Sam breathed, briefly closing her eyes. Peering tiredly between Janet and her father, her brows furrowed suddenly. "Where is he?"

Janet nodded toward Jacob, and he drew back the curtain around Sam's bed. Jack was sleeping in the next bed over, his right arm in a sling, and a bandage covering the stitched-up gash near his hairline. He was attached to an IV, and mostly covered by warm blankets. "He woke briefly while we were taking him for X-rays. He was asking for you," Janet said in a gentle whisper. "Wanted to make sure you were okay," she smiled a little.

Sam couldn't help the smile that quirked briefly on her face. Still looking over at Jack, she slowly laid back down on her side as a sudden wave of exhaustion hit her. Her eyes drifted toward her father once more. "I'm sorry I made you miss our flight," she murmured apologetically.

Jacob grasped one of her hands in both of his own. "Ah, don't worry about it. Mark will understand,"

Her brows furrowed in response, and she barely noticed Janet moving toward Jack's bed to check on him and give them some privacy. "You should go see them Dad. I'm sure General Hammond could get you a flight to California, courtesy of the U.S. Air Force,"

He heaved a patient sigh. "I don't want you to be stuck here alone for Christmas,"

"I'll be okay Dad," Sam smiled convincingly at him. "Colonel O'Neill will be here. We'll just have to have an on-base Christmas and keep each other company,"

"Sam... I can call Mark and we can go visit him together when the doctor discharges you," Jacob tried to reason. He then had to forcefully quash down the oncoming thoughts from his symbiote, Selmak. _**She wants to be with him. Let it be Jacob. **_He pushed the Tok'ra's opinions out of his own head, not wanting to face what the wise old alien was trying to tell him about his daughter and her CO.

"I'm fine Dad," she insisted. "Go see Mark, Trudy, and the kids. They miss you,"

Finally, Jacob nodded. He slowly released her hand. "Okay kid. I'd better go rearrange something with George. I'll come in and check up on you before I go," Winking at her affectionately, Jacob left the infirmary in search of his old friend.

-

After saying her goodbyes to her father, Sam must have fallen asleep again, because the next time she woke, it was to the sound of voices in the direction of Jack's bed. When her muzzy mind was able to understand what was being said, she realized that Janet was explaining Jack's condition to him. Rolling slowly onto her side to face them, she could see that the Colonel was sitting up in bed, propped up by a couple soft pillows, still looking a little pale, but otherwise much better now that he was awake. She smiled. Neither he nor Janet had noticed she was awake yet.

"I suppose that's a relief then, eh Doc?" Jack looked at her with a wan, lopsided smile. "I can walk,"

She gave him one of those stern looks, her own dark eyes narrowed. "Not at the moment you're not doing any walking," she warned. "It's going to take a little more time for the swelling to go down, and you'll be pretty sore. So that means wheelchair. For at least the next couple days. Then I'll want to get you into some physical therapy,"

"Oh joy," Jack grunted and heaved a sigh. He would have crossed his arms over his chest if the one wasn't in a sling. Suddenly, as if sensing that she was awake now, he turned his head in Sam's direction and quirked a smile. "Hey Carter,"

"Colonel, hi," Sam smiled back at him and slowly began to sit up. Her legs swung gingerly over the side of the bed, her movements slow and careful, knowing that Janet was watching her like a hawk.

Janet managed to contain her smile when she noticed the way that Sam and Jack were speaking to one another with their eyes. Stuffing her hands in the pockets of her white coat, she cleared her throat to gain their attention. "Now listen you two," Janet began in a motherly tone, "I'd like the both of you to try and eat something, but it's very late and straight after I want you to go right back to bed, is that understood?"

Sam laughed softly and nodded, tucking a rebellious strand of hair behind her ear.

Jack snorted and rolled his eyes. "I don't suppose this means we'll get to escape these beds, huh?" His eyebrows rose hopefully, though he knew there wasn't a chance Janet would let either of them - him especially - out of her clutches so soon.

"No Colonel, I'm afraid not," Janet shook her head at him. "I'll have one of the nurses bring something light down for the both of you," That said, the doctor's heels were soon tapping along the floor swiftly as she retreated to her office.

Sam's eyes skittered over to the clock on the wall. It was 2317 hours; almost Christmas Eve. Her blue-eyed gaze drifted back toward her Commanding Officer. She found it hard thinking of him that way right now. They'd gotten almost casual in that barn in Nebraska, and she found herself quickly wanting it back, worried that he was going to go all formal on her now, conveniently forgetting everything that happened there, and back at his cabin when they'd kissed.

Before Sam could bring up her concerns, Jack started talking as though he'd read her mind.

"Sam," he said with a slight rasp to his voice. He could turn his head toward her, but twisting his upper body to better face her was definitely not going to happen. His back hurt too much for that. Smiling at her disarmingly, his mesmerizing brown eyes twinkled lovingly at her. "I'm not going to lock this up Sam," Jack told her quietly. "If we have to...put up a front around the others for..awhile, that's okay. But it's just us... I don't wanna pretend that I don't love you,"

Sam's eyes widened in shock. She expected something from him, some kind of reaction, but certainly not that! He'd said those words. He'd said that he loved her. For a moment she couldn't breathe, just stared at him. Then she saw a look of uncertainty and rejection flash across his face and managed a bright smile. Sam nodded emphatically. "Yeah. Me neither. I mean - Me too. I love you too," she whispered, wary that Janet or the nurse bringing their food could walk in at any moment.

"We'll talk more...later," Jack grinned, pleased beyond all reason with her response, "When we're outta here." He nodded. Jack couldn't love her more than he did right then. She was perfectly imperfect, beautiful and smart, and just so... Carter. He loved her, and for whatever reason, she loved him too.

-

Despite having not eaten in awhile, neither Sam or Jack finished their small meal once the nurse dropped it off for them, and easily went back to sleep afterwards. Janet had stepped in to make sure her patients were okay, then returned to her office so she could brief Dr. Warner of their conditions. He was the next doctor on rotation, and Fraiser would be going home to her daughter. She almost hated to leave her two friends, but somehow knew that they'd be just fine.

By morning Janet returned to find that her patients had been permitted to go to the recreation room on the same level the infirmary was on. She went to check on them, peering discretely in the doorway. The doctor was relieved to see that the Colonel was in a wheelchair, having been prepared to scold him severely if he wasn't. He was positioned in front of a card table with Sam seated across from him, and it looked like they were playing _Scrabble_.

"Jack, _d'oh _is not an actual word!" Sam exclaimed, rolling her eyes.

"Is so!" Jack protested. "C'mon Sam, gimme a break. You're winning by like a gazillion points!"

"Gazillion isn't an actual number either," she told him smugly, trying hard not to giggle as he glared at her and childishly stuck out his tongue.

Janet's eyes widened momentarily and she pulled her head quickly out of the doorway before they noticed her, leaning her back up against the wall in the hallway just outside. Was it her imagination, or were they calling each other by their first names? Trying to wipe the shocked expression off her face, Janet composed herself and noisily entered the room to get their attention.

Seeing that Jack and Sam seemed to be in good spirits this morning, she smiled cheerfully at them. "Good morning! How are my two favorite patients doing this morning?"

"Doc, we're your ONLY two patients," Jack muttered, ignoring the question.

Sam smiled unabashedly at him for a moment before remembering Janet was in the room. Most of the morning they'd been relatively left alone, and able to be casual with one another. But she definitely had to put a dampener on that now.

Still smiling cheerily, Janet rolled her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest. "Well, I've got a surprise for you two!"

Jack raised his eyebrows skeptically, thinking he was in for a bunch more needles. He shuddered involuntarily at the thought.

Sam shot Jack a concerned look for a moment, then eyed Janet quizzically. "What kind of surprise?"

"I'm granting the both of you a two day pass to come and spend Christmas with me and Cassie. That is, if you want to?" Janet looked between her two friends for their reactions. She wasn't disappointed.

"Really?" Jack asked uncertainly, eagerness in his eyes. He really didn't want to spend Christmas on base, and if he could be with Sam and spend time with part of his surrogate family, that was a bonus.

"Janet, I'd love to! Thank you," Sam exclaimed excitedly. She would still get to be with Jack for the holiday, and that was all she wanted.

"Good," Janet grinned, then turned to Jack. "And yes, Colonel, really. There's not going to be much personnel on base, and I want the both of you being looked after,"

Jack narrowed his eyes at the doctor. "Well, if we're gonna be spending Christmas with you, I don't wanna hear any Sirs or Colonels while we're off base," he waggled his finger at Janet and winked over at Sam when the doctor wasn't looking. "That goes for the both of ya,"

"You got it," Janet nodded in agreement. Smiling, she turned her own stern glare at Jack. "And I want you taking it easy."

"Yeah, yeah," Jack was rolling his eyes, but then sent the doctor a reassuring crooked smile. He knew he'd definitely be taking it easy. He was sore enough as it was right now, and could feel his eyelids getting heavy.

"Have you eaten breakfast yet?"

Sam nodded. "Yeah, Lieutenant Rush brought us something already,"

"Okay," Janet could see that Jack was tiring and went to the back of his chair, pulling him away from the table. She patted his good shoulder gently when his head jerked up and he craned his neck to look at her questioningly. "I want you guys to rest for an hour or so before we leave, okay?"

"Alright," Sam got up from the table and followed at Janet's side as the doctor pushed Jack's wheelchair back to the infirmary.

-

When they'd been freed from the confines of the infirmary and the finally escaped the mountain, Janet stopped first at Sam's house, then at the Colonel's to pick up whatever they would need for the next two days. Jack had originally complained when Janet insisted he hand over his house keys and tell her what he would need so she could go get everything for him, but shut up when she threatened to send him back to the SGC. Sam wasn't as immobile as he was, so she was able to quickly go to her house and pack an overnight bag before returning to the doctor's SUV.

Getting out of the car, Sam carried their bags while Janet helped Jack into the wheelchair and pushed him up the walkway. Jack craned his neck to look up at the doctor skeptically when he saw the ramp of ply wood over the porch steps. "You planned this, didn't you?" he accused.

Janet just smiled back at him smugly. "Actually, Colonel, I just had Sergeant Siler bring the ramp over this morning."

"Very sly Doc, very sly," Jack snorted, then glanced sideways as Sam came over to help Janet push his chair up the ramp. He hated that he was so useless, and how tired he was again. His lower back was throbbing steadily in tune with the jackhammer in his skull and the pulsing pain in his shoulder. "And what did I say about the Sirs and Colonels?" he grouched.

"Sorry. _Jack_," Janet corrected herself, maneuvering his chair into the house and down the somewhat-narrow hallway when Sam held the door open.

"I think _someone's _getting a little cranky," Sam stage-whispered, following the doctor towards the guest bedroom with hers and Jack's bags.

Janet glanced over at Sam and knowingly said, "His pain medication's probably wearing off,"

"Hey, I can hear you, ya know!" Jack grumped as she was just turning his chair into the bedroom.

Sam nodded in affirmative at the doctor. Stepping into the room after them, she dropped their bags just inside the door and looked around. The full-size bed was pushed against the left wall, and on the right was a twin-sized mattress on the floor.

Janet smiled apologetically at her friends. "I want the two of you in the same room so it'll be easier to keep an eye on you. And Sam, I'm sorry, but you're going to have to take the mattress on the floor."

"Oh, that's fine. I don't mind," Sam nodded in understanding. She knew Jack wouldn't have been able to get up from the floor, but also that Janet didn't want to say it aloud because he'd probably grouch about it. Turning her attention toward him, Sam smiled and shared a look with Janet. Jack's head was starting to tip forward as he began nodding off.

"Time for you to get some more rest," Janet said softly, lightly patting the Colonel's left shoulder. She pushed his chair beside the bed, then both she and Sam helped the grumbling man onto the bed.

Jack grimaced as he laid down, breathing hard from the effort of moving. Fraiser was fussing with his pillows while Sam gently tugged off his shoes and pulled a blanket over him.

"I'll get your pills," Janet told him as she retreated from the room, leaving Sam and Jack alone together.

Sam gingerly sat on the edge of the bed beside him. She smiled gently down at him, already well aware that he was exhausted and uncomfortable. Carefully, she raised a tentative hand and began to lightly thread her fingers through his hair in a soothing manner, avoiding the stitches near his hairline at the left of his forehead.

He smiled up at her sleepily, letting his eyes slide closed with the comforting feel of Sam's lithe fingers dancing across his scalp.

When Janet returned with Jack's medication, Sam didn't bother pulling away from Jack. She glanced at the doctor, half-expecting to a faint look of surprise on her face, but there was none. Somewhat glad that her friend wasn't reacting negatively, she reached for the glass of water Janet was holding for Jack.

Janet's eyes met Jack's as he opened them and blinked tiredly at her. She showed him a rather large pill. "This one's for the swelling. And I know you're already tired, but I'm going to insist that you spend as much time as possible in bed and resting. The MRI we took again this morning showed that the swelling has already gone down, but I don't want it to flare up again so you need to take it easy, okay?"

"Yeeees Doc," Jack sing-songed softly, quirking a faint smile. His eyes were on Sam the entire time, who was still sitting at the edge of the bed by his hip. He swallowed what he considered a horse pill, then another which Janet explained was for the pain.

"Oh!" Janet exclaimed suddenly, both Sam and Jack looking at her with puzzled expressions. "I've got to go pick up Cassie!" she began to explain. "She wanted to do some last-minute Christmas shopping with a friend, and I have to pick them up at the mall,"

Sam nodded and smiled. She'd been wondering where the fourteen-year-old was hiding. "Go get her, we'll be okay," she reassured her friend.

"Are you sure?" Janet asked with uncertainty. She grimaced. "The whole point of you both coming here was so that you'd be looked after,"

"Janet," Sam stated seriously, "I feel fine and..._Jack _is going to be resting. We'll be alright for an hour. Go and get Cassie," she commanded with a smile.

"Alright," the small woman was already backing toward the door. "I won't be more than an hour. I have to bring Cassie's friend home too. And Sam, if you get tired go ahead and take a nap. There's food in the fridge if you get hungry, and if your headache comes back there's Tylenol and Advil in the cupboard by the stove,"

Sam nodded. "Okay, I got it," She watched Janet hurry from the room, then heard her grab her keys in the kitchen and rush out the door to pick up her daughter. Her eyes automatically skittered back over to Jack, and she smiled, seeing that he seemed to be asleep.

Leaving Jack for a moment to get something to drink from the kitchen, Sam realized she actually was a little tired herself. When she went back into the room, she kicked off her shoes and was about to lay down on her mattress on the floor when her eyes slid toward Jack like she could feel him watching her. He was. His dark, hazy eyes were gazing her, a brief smile quirking on his face.

"Sam," he murmured softly, waving her over to him with his left hand. "C'mere," When she looked at him questioningly, he had a teasing smile on his face. "You're gonna freeze over there,"

Sam laughed softly and got up from where she was kneeling on her mattress. She strode toward his bed as he was trying to scoot over to make room for her. "It's warmer over there where you are, is it?"

"Oh yeah," he stated knowingly with a tiny grin, "Lots warmer,"

Laughing again, Sam got on the bed and slid in close to him when Jack lifted his blanket for her. She curled up to his left side, her head resting gingerly on his chest as he wrapped his arm around her. She only intended to lie there for a few minutes, but she was soon lulled into an easy sleep along with Jack.

-

The sound of voices out in the hall forty-five minutes later reached Sam's ears as she drifted back from dreamland. Her brows furrowed as she tried to listen to what the voices were saying. It was Janet and Cassie.

"Can I go say hi?" Cassie asked her mother brightly.

"Not now sweetie, later you can see them," Janet said in a quiet, placating tone. "They're both resting right now Cassandra, leave them be,"

"Okay," the teenager sighed.

"I've got to get dinner ready and bake some cookies for tomorrow, do you want to help?" Janet asked her daughter.

"Yeah, sure," Cassie agreed happily. She loved Christmas cookies, and making them with her mom was a tradition Janet had started during Cassie's first year with her.

Sam smiled to herself and heard them both walk away. Not bothering to open her eyes, she snuggled closer to Jack and readjusted the blanket, pulling it up over her shoulders. It was warm and comfortable against him, and she didn't want to move. Sam knew that Janet had probably checked up on them as soon as she and Cassie had come home, and probably saw the compromising position they were in, but she didn't care.

By the time they both woke again, it was time for dinner. Janet had peeked in on them and asked if they were hungry, acting as though it was perfectly normal to see them laying there together in Jack's bed. Sam shared a confused look with Jack for a moment before she helped him to sit up. When he made a comment about needing to use the bathroom, Sam ignored his indignant mutterings as she helped him into the wheelchair and pushed him into the bathroom. He wasn't really able to maneuver the chair himself, with one arm in a sling, and Sam had simply left her protesting Colonel to take care of things while she waited outside the door until he was done. She threatened to have Janet help him instead, but Jack was worried the doctor would want to give him a catheter and quickly got cooperative with Sam.

Quietly leaning against the wall in the hallway as she waited for Jack, Sam caught sight of Cassie out of the corner of her eye and turned to smile at the teen widely. "Cassie,"

"Sam!" the fourteen-year-old nearly bowled Sam over as she embraced her surrogate big sister in a hug. "Mom told me what happened. How are you?" Cassie asked as she took a step back and finally let go of the older woman.

"I'm good Cassie, real good," Sam smiled, nodding honestly. "Merry Christmas, sweetheart,"

"Not yet. Tomorrow," Cassie said emphatically with a laugh. She turned to glance down the hall toward the kitchen. "Oh, I'd better finish setting the table. You coming? Where's Jack?" the teen's brows furrowed as she leaned sideways to peer into the open door to the guest room. She didn't see Jack in there.

Sam gestured subtly toward the bathroom door she was standing by. "I've got to help him with his chair, so we'll come eat in a minute," she assured the eager young girl with a kind smile. When Cassie nodded solemnly, Sam could tell that she was concerned about Jack. Janet had no-doubt told her daughter what had happened to them.

Jack began to emerge from the bathroom a minute later, awkwardly trying to maneuver the wheelchair with only one useable arm. Grumbling under his breath, he heaved a sigh of what actually sounded like relief when Sam silently squeezed between the door and the chair to get behind him and push him out into the hall.

"I'm warning you to be prepared for a glomping from Cassie," Sam leaned over him, speaking softly into his ear and smiling.

He snorted, chuckling lowly as they arrived in the kitchen. Jack saw that the teenager had quickly spotted him.

"Jack!"

Smiling with gritted teeth, Jack tried not to cringe from the pain in his head when she excitedly screeched his name.

Cassie hurried over to him, but slowed down and was surprisingly careful as she hugged him lightly, mindful of his injuries, and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "I'm glad you guys are both okay,"

He nodded, a genuine smile spreading across his face. "Thanks kiddo," Jack affectionately squeezed her hand with his left one before she pulled away.

Janet spun around slowly from where she was pouring drinks at the table. "I hope you two brought your appetites," she looked at both her friends and patients, mentally checking each of them over with a glance.

"Oh yeah. I'm starved," Jack smirked lopsidedly with more enthusiasm than he was feeling and patted his stomach. He craned his neck to look up at Sam, their eyes locking briefly before she pushed him over to the table, sliding him into the spot where a chair was missing.

Sitting down once every else had, Janet filled their plates and they all began eating. "It's just some lemon chicken with rice and broccoli. The big dinner will be tomorrow,"

Sam smiled gratefully at her friend that had taken them in on such short notice. "Janet, this is more than enough. Thank you,"

"Yeah," Jack nodded, waving his fork in the air, "Thanks Doc,"

"It's my pleasure," Janet assured them both with a heartfelt smile. "It's usually just me and Cassie for the holidays, so it's nice to have others around,"

"Yeah," the teenager agreed whole-heartedly. "It's too quiet with just me an Mom,"

Janet, Cassie, and Sam all chatted throughout dinner, while Jack remained mostly quiet as he basically picked at his meal. He'd been a little hungry, but hadn't been quite able to finish all of his food. He couldn't stop gazing at Sam across the table, remembering the feel of her curled up against him. He just wanted to hold her again. Starting to suddenly feel like he was nodding off, Jack blinked several times and jerked his chin up when it dropped down to his chest.

"Hey Jack, are you okay?" Cassie asked for the third time when he wasn't answering her. Now her mother and Sam were also looking at him with concern.

"Hm?" Jack looked up at them sleepily. He shook his head to clear it and winced.

"I think _someone's _due for a nap," Janet whispered with a small smile, lightly nudging Sam with her elbow. "C'mon," she got up from the table as Sam did the same, "Help me get him into bed, then you, me, and Cassie can go in the living room and watch sappy Christmas movies,"

Sam laughed softly and got behind Jack's chair, pulling him back from the table.

"What if I wanna watch sappy Christmas movies?" Jack mumbled tiredly in a whiny, teasing tone that made all three women giggle.

"Maybe tomorrow," Janet lightly patted his shoulder, then glanced at her daughter as she started to follow Sam pushing Jack back to the guest room. "Cassie, would you mind cleaning up?"

The teen nodded, sighing as she began to gather the dishes to load them into the dishwasher.

-

It was nearly midnight when Jack woke and was unable to get back to sleep. He felt a sudden shiver travel through him and shifted, trying to get comfortable. His back and shoulder gave warning twinges as he moved. Managing to uncomfortably prop himself up on his left elbow, he peered through the darkness at the shadow on the other side of the room where Sam's mattress lay on the floor. He couldn't see if she was actually there, and it made him inexplicably uneasy. "Sam?" he choked out raspily, then cleared his throat and called again, softly. "Sam?"

A muffled groan came from the dark corner.

"Sam?" Relief that she was there was soon replaced with regret that she hadn't been beside him. Jack wished that he didn't hurt so much, that he could easily climb out of his bed and go to her, but he couldn't. He didn't want to wake her, but it was the only way he was going to be able to hold her again.

"Jack?" she mumbled sleepily, rolling over beneath her pile of blankets and turning so that she faced his bed. Suddenly, she sat up worriedly. "What's wrong?"

He smiled pathetically at her, and she could just make out his face in the darkness, a little bit of moonlight from outside the window shining upon him. "Can't sleep," he murmured.

Sam smiled gently back at him and got up, bringing one of the blankets with her. Silently, she climbed into bed beside him as he moved over gingerly, and pulled the covers up to their shoulders. She laid comfortably at his side, her cheek resting against his chest, and one arm draped lightly over his stomach. "This better?"

"Mm," he nodded, his chin moving against the top of her head and his good arm snaking around her. "Much better," he whispered, breathing deeply and closing his eyes again.

-

Christmas morning came around slowly. Sam was comfortable and warm in Jack's arms, but she was awake now, and realized that Cassie most likely would be up soon too. The teenager still got excited about Christmas morning, since they'd never had anything like it on her home planet. Lifting her head slowly from where it rested on Jack's chest, she peered out the window to see that it was still fairly dark outside. The sun hadn't risen yet, but a dull glow was coming from the outside lights, and she could see soft fluffs of snow drifting down from the sky.

Feeling Jack begin to stir, she gently rested her hand against his chest and leaned down to brush a feather-light kiss on his lips. When his bleary brown eyes opened up for her, she smiled widely and affectionately at him. "Merry Christmas," she whispered softly.

"Mm," he grinned sleepily back at her. "Merry Christmas," he rumbled, tightening his one arm around her.

"Jack, it's snowing, look," she whispered, her eyes shifting back to the window.

He tried to twist in the direction of the window to look, but couldn't turn that far and wound up laying back, hissing softly in pain.

"I'm sorry, I forgot," Sam apologized guiltily. She sat up and crawled out from under the covers, getting out of bed slowly to retrieve Jack's wheelchair. "Come on, let me help you up,"

When Jack had managed to get in the chair with Sam's guidance, she covered him up with a blanket and began wheeling him out of the room. "Where we goin'?" he whispered, not wanting to make a lot of noise because it was still so early.

"To watch the snow," Sam softly replied, pushing him out to the living room.

Jack was awed by the beautiful scene. The little Christmas tree in the corner was all lit up, presents were neatly placed underneath, and there were four stockings hung up on the wall. The ones with his and Sam's names on them surprised him the most. He smiled. He hadn't seen a Christmas morning like this in a long time, since Charlie. His own house was rather dull, just a wreath hung outside on the door. For years now he hadn't even bothered putting up a tree anymore. "Whoa," he whispered with a heart-warming smile spreading across his face. "When did all this happen?" he wondered aloud. Only the tree had been up the other night.

Sam was positively beaming at him. "I helped Janet set everything up after Cassie went to bed," she was pleased with the look of awe on his face, and could see he was looking at their stockings. "You like it?"

"Yeah," Jack breathed, his eyes getting a little watery. He realized at that moment, just how much he'd missed things like this.

"C'mon," Sam wheeled him to the front door, then bundled herself up in her coat, grabbed another quilt from the couch, and made sure Jack was warm enough with his blanket before unlocking the door and pushing him out onto the covered porch. She moved his chair beside the wooden swing.

Jack watched her with love and adoration in his eyes. When she laid the extra blanket down over the swing, he struggled to move from the chair to the seat. She immediately went to help him, and he let her, eager to be sitting at her side.

"Are you okay?" she asked with concern when they were both settled on the swing. She sat on his right side so that she was able to lean against his shoulder without hurting him.

"Yeah," he nodded, smiling at her with warm, dark chocolate eyes, "I'm good. Real good," Wrapping his blanket around both of them, he heaved a soft, contented sigh as she snuggled up against him.

"I love you," she whispered into his shoulder, lifting her head briefly to kiss the side of his neck.

Jack grinned, turning his head so that their lips would meet. "I love you too."

"Is it time to have that talk now?" she asked after a moment, knowing that at some point they would need to discuss how having a relationship would affect things at the SGC, but not really wanting to think about it. She didn't want to leave the team, and she knew he wouldn't want to either. They worked so well together side by side, no matter what their feelings were.

"Nah," Jack murmured in response after a few seconds of thought. He really didn't want to think about those things yet either. Everything was tranquil and nice right now, and he didn't want to spoil anything.

"Good," Sam nodded against him, smiling and heaving her own sigh of contentment.

Together they sat there, watching the gently falling snow and waiting for the sun to rise.

This had to have been the best Christmas either of them had in a long time, despite how the holiday had started. And they owed it all to a soft lantern light hanging from the window of a barn in the middle of nowhere.

-The End-


End file.
